Tag: Home Renting Lifestyle

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Move-In Day: HomeHaks Top Tips On Ways To Help Your New Tenants

Move-In Day: HomeHaks Top Tips On Ways To Help Your New Tenants

Introduction

The job of building a relationship with a tenant begins the first day you show them around. When a renter is choosing a new place to live, how they feel about a potential landlord can count for a lot. It counts for even more when it comes time for tenants to decide whether to stay or go. And if they’ve kept up their end of the bargain by being clean, quiet, and reliable with their payments, you’ll probably want to make sure to keep them around.

Establish a good relationship on move-in day

One of the best times to establish a good rapport with your tenants is on move-in day. Renters will remember the help you offered on that stressful day, and they know they can count on you in the event of a problem and for any questions they might have.

 

Moving Day Tips
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How to help

To come up with ways to welcome incoming tenants, put yourself in their shoes. It’s going to be an exhausting couple of days of unpacking boxes and arranging furniture. What will they need the most during that time that doesn’t involve too much time or effort? Here are a few options for a complete welcome package.

Make sure your tenant is set up for rent payments

This is something you should take care of before move-in day, just to make sure your tenants don’t have too many other arrangements to make. As soon as your tenant has been accepted and paid their deposit, reach out to them to organise if they need to connect their bank account, credit card, or debit card or if it will be cash for quick and easy payments. If they haven’t gotten set up by move-in day, include a friendly reminder in their welcome package outlining how future payments will be made.

Get them familiar with their new neighbourhood

After all, they haven’t just chosen your building – they’ve chosen your part of the city. Your tenant’s welcome package should include a list of nearby banks, grocery stores, post offices, doctor’s offices, pharmacies, haircutters, dry cleaners, petrol stations, childcare and pet care services – anything a tenant might need on a day-to-day basis. With your help, they’ll know where to go in a pinch without spending too much time Googling.

 

This list can go beyond basic services, too. Talk to some popular local restaurants, bars, shops and entertainment venues about supplying coupons to include in your tenant’s welcome package. This tells your tenant that they can come to you for suggestions about where to go when they have free time.

 

HomeHaks Top Tips On Ways To Help Your New Tenants
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Make their first week easy with a few basic supplies

Try and stock your tenant’s kitchen and bathroom with basic necessities. For example: toilet paper, paper towels, all-purpose cleaner, batteries, and light bulbs. This will help your tenants accustom to their new place without having to make a run to the store. They’ll be grateful for your foresight. Check out this article for more information on helping your new tenants on move-in day. 

Connect them with their new neighbors

If you rent a single-family home, make sure to tell new tenants a little bit about their new neighbors and even facilitate an introduction if you know them well. Show tenants that you’re not just operating a building – you’re building a community.

 

Check out this article by HomeHak Best Ways To Be A Great Landlord – HomeHaks Top Recommendations!

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Allowing Pets in Irish Rental Properties – Advantages For Landlords

Allowing pets in Irish properties HomeHak

Allowing Pets in Rental Properties – What Are The Advantages

 

Most pet owners consider their pet as family, and won’t even consider an apartment that would require them to give their beloved animal up. When you think about how many potential tenants are looking for a rental property that will accept pets, it may be worth your while to welcome furry, four-legged creatures. Take a look at our guide outlining the benefits of allowing pets in your rental property.

Allowing Pets in Irish Rental Properties - Advantages For Landlords
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Pros to allowing pets in rental properties

There are several positives to establishing a pet-friendly property:

Higher Rent

Market value determines the amount you can set your rent. By allowing pets in rentals (large dogs in particular) especially when very few properties in your neighborhood are pet-friendly, you may be able to command a higher rent. At the very least, it could give you a leg up on the competition if a decision comes down to your property and a similar one which doesn’t allow pets. Check out this article on landlords charging for pet fees.

Longer Tenure

The more a tenant considers an abode their home, the more likely they are to renew a lease. Certainly, settling in with a pet can make a rental feel like a permanent residence. Additionally, The Balance points out that it can be harder for pet owners to find alternate dwellings that will take both them and their pet.  So allowing pets equals longer tenure.

Larger pool of applicants

Pet ownership is at an all-time high. If your rental property is marketed towards a younger market, there’s an even higher likelihood that a pet is part of the package. Allowing pets attracts more tenants to your property and gives you more tenants to choose from, so you can find the best fit.

 

Allowing Pets in Irish Rental HomeHak
Photo by Mikhail Vasilyev on Unsplash

Responsible pet owners are more likely to be responsible tenants 

As we all know, taking care of a pet requires a lot of time and attention. What does this mean? There is a likelihood that behavior will translate into renters treating your property with the same amount of respect and energy.

Decreased chance of unknown pets

Tenants are more likely to be upfront about their pets if you allow them from the start. You’ll have fewer instances of tenants sneaking pets onto the property and will be aware of the type and number of pets living on-site.

To summarise

As outlined above, allowing pets in your rental property has numerous benefits. Higher rent. Longer Tenure. Larger pool of applicants. Respoinsible pet owners are more likely to be responsible tenants. Decreased chance of unknown pets.

For more information on pets in rental properties in Ireland, check out our other article: Finding Pet-Friendly Rentals in Ireland.

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Renting A Home That Has It All – What To Look For

A couple cooking together in the kitchen

Work space, rest space, play space, shared space. A home in this day and age is your office, sanctuary and cafe rolled into one. Having a place that allows for this flexibility in lifestyle is more important than ever in a connected world. So, it’s worth putting some extra thought into renting a home that ticks all the boxes, Maybe it creates a few new ones in our ever-competitive rental market.

 

The first step is outlining your current situations. Yes, plural. Break your needs out into work, rest, exercise, socialising and eating. While the borders between these are actually fuzzy, it helps to make sure you’re thinking about the important factors for each facet of your life. Consider how they fit in with your ideal home. First, work.

Where and how do you work when renting a home?

 Work is a massive part of our lives. Think about how this fits into where you live. For example, can you cut down your commute by finding a rental that’s close to the office? Does work allow you to do some days from home? If so, does your rental have a space available to let you get good work done? Does that space have a door to stop your roommate Brian from walking past your Zoom meetings wearing just his underwear? Come on, Brian, no one wants to see that.


Asking a few of these key questions will help shape a picture of what your home will need. This ensures to make the work part of your life as seamless as possible. Less stress here means less stress overall.   

Will your rental help you unwind?

 According to the Mental Health Foundation, sleep is as important to our health as eating, drinking and breathing. Making sure you have good sleep and relaxation time means you’re happier. You can also enjoy the more exciting times to the full. So, think about whether you’ll be able to get proper rest at home. A room that will be quiet, has blinds to shut out light, and good temperature control are all key for sleep. A comfortable spot to lounge, watch the match or Netflix and chill is also essential these days too. 

Are there opportunities to exercise nearby when renting a home?

Getting motivated to get sweaty can be hard enough without putting a 45-minute drive in the way. So, whatever your preferred exercise is, make sure there are facilities near your home to let you do it easily.


Yoga and pilates studios? Football or hurling grounds? Tennis courts? Good cycling routes to work? Some extra planning and thought into where your home is could mean you’ll stay fitter and therefore healthier and happier in the long run. It doesn’t hurt to have a good bar in between those places too. Additionally if you want to reward yourself on the way home. 


Renting-A-Home-HomeHak
Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash

 

Will your home let you get social?

 There are so many ways to stay social these days. Eat out with friends, eat in with friends, see a movie or go to the pub with friends. Targeting a rental that will allow you to get out and about, but also invite people over is a must when looking for a place to live. Having a place close to friends’ places is also a factor. Nothing better than being able to text a few of the lads or ladies and have a spur of the moment catch up. An adequate dining space is ideal if you can find it, but in lieu of that, great restaurants nearby can also be a social catalyst. 

Do you cook, takeout or eat out?

 Some people love nothing more than cooking up a storm in the kitchen, making a home-cooked meal to rival mum’s roast dinners. Others prefer the convenience of Deliveroo or JustEat. Others still prefer to get out for some fine dining. Whatever your preference, scoping out your options is a critical element before deciding on the ideal zone for your rental property. 


Once you’ve factored in work, rest, exercise, socialising and food, you’ll have a really good indication of the perfect place you want to be. Location isn’t the only factor, obviously. Good internet, cooking facilities and work/play spaces are all things to put in your checklist.


The next step then is putting your needs out there and finding the rental that has it all. HomeHak is a platform that helps you do this and more. Check out how you can create a profile here which lists what you’re looking for in a home and guides you through creating a CV that landlords will jump at. 


A little thought and the right tools will make it easier to find the right balance between work, rest, play and a social life worth calling friends about.


Are you a first-time renter? Check out this blog post for some helpful tips!